Chapter 16 – Meet and Greet

After a while, I slumped down on the steps of a building.

I started to rummage through the cop's backpack. I wasn't sure what I had taken but hopefully nothing bad. I saw some basic equipment but was pleasantly surprised to find a large amount of food; sandwiches, pastry rolls, a thermo-flask full of coffee.

Jackpot. Tucking into them immediately, I slurped down the coffee without using the cup, whilst almost choking on the food.

Then my eyes grew wide. The cop's handgun was there, tucked into its holster. I scanned around me to check no one was peering in. I kept the gun in the bag, turning it in my hands.

I read the engravings on the side. It was a 9mm Glock 19. I checked that the safety was on before stuffing it back into the bag along with one of the wallets.

I took the other one and put it in my jacket pocket.

But I felt something already inside it.

I looked down curiously and pulled the object out. It was the envelope, the same one from this morning.

I had stuffed it in there just before Ari chased me. I cursed silently for forgetting it. I ripped it open and took out a small folded piece of paper.

It read: The Pond, Central Park. 1pm.

Okay, so the writer had wisely decided that being vague was the most cautious thing to do. But still, a little more information would be nice.

Like who had actually written the freakin' letter?

I glanced through a shop window at a clock and noticed that I had less than twenty minutes to get there. It was several blocks away but I could make it.

I stuffed the letter in my pocket, slung the backpack on and sprinted towards Central Park.

() () () () () () () () () ()

For those of you who don't know, The Pond is, unsurprisingly, the name of a pond at the most southern corner of Central Park.

I sat down on a bench and did a scan. Around me were several people. Some were just parent with kids and some were just average people going for walks. I nervously tapped my fingers on the bench's wooden slates.

I was quite exposed but at least I was near the edge of the park so I could slip into the busy city streets if I needed to.

I saw a woman check her watch and focused my raptor eyes on it. I was perhaps ten minutes late.

Had I missed the meeting? Or was this a trap that I had walked into-

"Hello Phoenix," said a voice beside me, making me jump.

I turned to see a man sitting next to me on the bench. A man I recognized.

It was Jeb, the whitecoat from the School! Even though he was wearing jeans and a plain jumper I could still smell death on him.

I sucked in a fast breath and shot to my feet.

"Please sit down," he said calmly, gesturing with his hand. "I'm not here to hurt you."

I stared at him nervously, scanning the trees and the crowds for Erasers. How did he know my name? How did he know where to find me? Was he the writer of the letter?

"I've come alone. Now please, sit down."

His voice seemed sincere and his face seemed calm. But he was a whitecoat.

He was one of them.

My bird instincts were telling me 'Run, fly, just get away!'

Should I stay, or go?

Stay, go, stay, go?